Anand mum on team for World Chess

Keeping his cards close to his chest, the otherwise genial orator refuses to succumb to queries on his support staff, letting out just one name.

advertisement

PTI

December 24, 2009

UPDATED: December 24, 2009 08:45 IST

Viswanathan Anand doesn't want the world, Veselin Topalov to be precise, to know how he is planning his title defence in next year's World Chess Championship and remained tightlipped about his team of seconds.

Keeping his cards close to his chest, the otherwise genial orator refused to succumb to queries on his support staff, letting out just one name.

"I can tell you the name of (Peter Heine) Nielsen (of Denmark) but would not name anybody else," Anand said with an impish smile. " And even if I give it, my opponent would not believe it," quipped the Indian who became world champion in 2007 and successfully defended the title next year, beating Russian Grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn, Germany.

Once again, the affable Indian will defend his title in Sophia, Bulgaria from April 5 next year over a 12-game contest with local favourite Topalov.

Asked if going into the contest as the title holder is tougher than being the challenger, Anand said, "There is not much of a difference between a defender and a challenger. As the holder, you no longer have the advantage of retaining the title with a draw. Once you start playing, these things become secondary," he said in the Capital.

Asked about his preparation, Anand did not share anything specific but said he was leaving no stone unturned to give himself the best chance of defending the title.

"I'm doing a lot of preparations, very similar to what I did before Bonn. I'm working intensely with my team. When the world is focussing only on you, you have to look at your game very thoroughly.

For events, there is Corus in January, followed by a couple of tournaments and then the Championship itself," he said. The Indian was fine with the 12- game format, which he found ideal.

"I think 12 is an ideal number. Longer than that and it's not an ideal event in modern times. You cannot have battles spanning three-four months anymore. I think 12 is a good mix of determining who the real champion is and at the same time, making it interesting for the fans," he said.

Anand has not been at his best this year but the Indian insisted he could not be accused of not giving his best.

"You have to give credit to your colleagues who did well. It's not a question of not trying enough. It's not that I played one or two notches below my level. I tried everything. I have definitely noticed some of the problems that had arisen and will try to fix them.

"Chess has a lot of depth nowadays and it's tough if you want to win each and every tournament. It's just not going to happen. This year, my rivals have played better," he said.

India A beat india B

National champion and IM B Adhiban held GM P. Harikrishna to a creditable draw to help India A win against India B in the second round of the Tata Steel Asian Team Chess Championship in Kolkata.

After the completion of the round, India A and Indonesia shared the top spot with four points each in men's section.

On the top board, Adhiban held GM P. Harikrishna to a creditable draw in a Slav defence. Harikrishna made a theoretical piece sacrifice in a well-prepared Slav defence but Adhiban forced a draw.

The other India A players GM K. Sasikiran and GM Surya Sekhar Ganguly won without any difficulty against IM S. Satyapragyan and R.R. Laxman. GM Parimarjan Negi won a long game against IM Deep Sengupta with the black pieces. On the 2nd board, Vietnam and Iran split points in a fiercely-fought match.

Get real-time alerts and all the news on your phone with the all-new India Today app. Download from